Latest news with #KateMuhl
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How consumers are responding to tariffs — and what CX leaders can do about it
This story was originally published on CX Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CX Dive newsletter. Businesses and consumers looking for some clarity when it comes to the Trump administration's tariff policy will have to keep looking. The Trump administration on Tuesday delayed some of its most severe reciprocal duties by August 1. But just a day prior, the White House sent letters to more than a dozen countries threatening to raise tariffs. The uncertainty caused by tariffs is changing consumer behavior. Shoppers concerned about the state of the economy and the ability to fund their lifestyle are taking a defensive posture with their spending, according to Kate Muhl, VP analyst in Gartner's marketing practice. CX leaders need to meet them where they are and highlight the value that they're providing. Consumers are scaling back spending, switching to store label brands, and reconsidering big purchases. A UserTesting survey of 4,000 people in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, released Tuesday, found that 2 in 5 are buying fewer products overall. A Gartner survey of nearly 400 people released this week, found 2 in 5 are looking to spend less. The turmoil caused by tariffs is 'a play in two acts,' Muhl said. 'Act one: uncertainty. Everybody's freaked out. When they think about their future plans, they want to secure themselves. Act two is not just uncertainty — we actually have changes [like higher prices] on the ground.' Currently, it's unclear how much prices are rising because of tariffs, but as more tariffs go into effect, prices for certain goods could rise, spurring more consumer reaction. 'As we get towards the end of the year, we're going to see potentially another round of behavior change and attitude change when we have the second act of this play,' Muhl said. For now, the reaction has been pretty consistent throughout the spring and into the summer, Muhl said. 'The weight of uncertainty, the sense of negativity around the idea of tariffs, and I think most importantly the commitment to putting off big purchases — those have been pretty consistent from pre-Liberation Day to post.' Over one-third of U.S. consumers are stressed by tariffs, and nearly one-quarter feel overwhelmed hearing about economic changes tied to shifting trade policies, according to UserTesting. In general, saving money is top of mind at the moment. Over one-quarter of consumers globally are switching to generic or store-brand alternatives, UserTesting found. Another 20% are traveling less and 39% are reconsidering summer travel entirely. In the U.S., half of consumers reported switching to lower-cost alternatives, straining loyalty. Gartner, too, found evidence of consumers looking to save money. Half of those surveyed said they would cook at home more often and 2 in 5 would trade down. As shoppers look to save money without sacrificing quality, they'll do more research, especially on big purchases, Muhl said. 'We can expect on the journey that the consumers are going to be consulting more sources at the kind of inspiration and research phases of the journey,' Muhl said. Many brands won't be able to reduce prices to attract customers, so Muhl encourages brands to stress the value of their products and services. That includes providing a permission structure — 'more information about not just what the benefits of the purchase are going to be, but also how this is not going to bring additional risk into your life,' she said. In turn, 'people can give themselves in some sense permission to make that purchase.' A shoe company, for example, might prominently display a quote from a customer about how its sandals are long lasting, timeless or require no break-in period. A shopper might then be more reassured that the sandals are high quality and that they won't regret purchasing a pair. 'In addition to finding ways along the journey to to signal value, which is to say you're getting a lot for the money you're spending, we have to also start to incorporate more signals of future value,' Muhl said. 'So it's not just what a great price you're getting for this shoe, it's that this shoe is durable,' Muhl continued. 'This shoe is going to go with everything in your wardrobe. This shoe is classic or timeless — things that signal along the way that this is not just going to be a good deal today, but that it's going to serve you later as well.' And as tariffs take hold and prices rise, UserTesting urges brands to be transparent about pricing changes. Nearly three-quarters of consumers say transparency about pricing changes are critical to maintaining trust. 'Consumers understand that price hikes may be out of a company's control,' Bobby Meixner, VP of solution marketing at UserTesting, said in a prepared statement. 'What they're looking for is honest, upfront communication — and they're making purchase decisions based on it.'
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How marketers can respond with empathy to consumer tariff shocks
This story was originally published on Marketing Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Marketing Dive newsletter. As the state of tariffs remains in flux, analysts are warning that marketers need to be prepared to respond to a 'one-two punch' scenario regarding U.S. consumer sentiment. With the economy poised for further bumpiness ahead of the recently extended Aug. 1 deadline for negotiating trade agreements, a consistent message around value and communicating a sense of empathy could be crucial to maintaining brand trust. U.S. shoppers aren't feeling great so far in 2025, with 70% making 'significant' changes to their everyday habits, such as cooking more at home or purchasing smaller package sizes of fast-moving goods, according to Gartner research exclusively shared with Marketing Dive. More are adopting savings behaviors typical to recessionary periods, such as paying down debt, while holding off on big-ticket items like cars and travel. That said, people — particularly affluent consumers — are more or less consistent in their spending patterns, preserving a sense of normalcy despite the souring mood. That picture could change if the ripple effects from tariffs, such as price hikes and product shortages, come into clearer focus in the second half. 'Right now, we're still in an attitudes and fears and anticipation space that's driving behavior, and then a reality on the ground is going to shift, and that's going to change behavior as well,' said Kate Muhl, a Gartner analyst specializing in cultural and consumer insights. 'I don't think a lot of CMOs that I'm seeing are making a lot of changes yet. I think they've got to get ready though because of this one-two punch I'm describing.' Gartner recommended that marketers revisit how they tackled the Great Recession to steel themselves for tariff tumult. Feelings of job security are low, especially among young consumers, a gloomy echo of the aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis. The business of marketing has changed considerably in the past 15-plus years, with more brands going digital-first. Adding to the complexity is the recent evolution of artificial intelligence. Given that, marketers should focus less on dusting off media plans from the late aughts and more on areas like brand positioning. 'I would say take a look at what you emphasize in your brand values, how you express that to consumers and [which] of those kinds of things were successful for you in 2008, because the conditions — the cultural conditions — are going to be similar,' said Muhl. The current environment also bears some key distinctions from the inflationary one that's dogged the industry in recent years, according to Muhl. Consumers are less likely to blame individual brands for a broad downturn, and many have high awareness of U.S. trade policy, with 59% holding a negative view of tariffs and 57% expressing pessimism around the economy, per Gartner. Pessimism could snowball into alarmism if store shelves start to thin out in the months ahead, a destabilizing image that led to some of the bigger freak outs in the early days of the pandemic. The prospect of empty shelves could hardly arrive at a worse time, as many industries, including retail, prepare for the key back-to-school and holiday shopping windows. 'In certain categories, that may well become part of the reality soon, starting roughly in the fall and thinking about the holidays ahead,' said Muhl. 'That will potentially exacerbate a lot of the other emotions that people are having about these big shifts in trade.' Different product categories will experience varying degrees of impact from tariffs, and some may reap more benefits than others. Smaller companies and disruptor brands could be more agile and transparent in responding to shifting levies, as well as being firmer in their commitments to consumers. Outdoor footwear brand Keen, which was among those highlighted by Gartner, has pledged to instate no tariff price increases in 2025, the type of stability fatigued consumers are craving. Kitchen waste disposal maker Lomi and swimwear brand Triangl are practicing what Gartner dubbed 'practical transparency,' providing detailed responses to how tariffs will affect their businesses in the form of FAQ pages and disclaimers in online shopping carts. Such initiatives can be more difficult for sprawling multinational companies to manage, but there are other ways to offset the coming blows. For example, if a single brand or product line is highly exposed to tariffs, costs could be spread around the portfolio to lessen the burden and prevent jarring price hikes. Across the board, brands will need to build 'permission structures' that demonstrate value beyond price to convince wary consumers, per Muhl. Hyundai's Assurance Program, first launched in 2009, is a model of how even high-consideration categories can approach marketing amid uncertainty. The program, a first of its kind for automotive, allowed car buyers to return their new vehicle if they lost their job due to the recession. Hyundai brought back the concept in 2020 in response to the pandemic. 'It's going to be about expressing, for the right kind of product and category, a kind of empathy with the pressure consumers are feeling, and alternately, finding ways to show how buying your product or buying with your brand is not a high-risk situation,' said Muhl. 'An empathetic position, it seems counterintuitive at a time when everybody's so price-driven. It's actually, I think, an important way to try to work back to a place of developing trust,' she added. Some brands are also boasting more of their made-in-the-U.S. bona fides to differentiate from rivals that are more reliant on global suppliers and therefore prone to price increases. A growing share of consumers do not find patriotism appealing, however. Four in 10 consumers anticipate buying more goods made in the U.S. in the coming months, whether it's due to patriotism, cost effectiveness or simply because there will be fewer alternatives, Gartner found. Brands that can effectively run an American-made strategy may want to look into doing so as a contingency plan depending on how the market shifts, according to Gartner. 'A phrase like 'Made in America' has always been kind of loaded, but it's even more so today, especially as consumers start to wonder about how the tariffs are going to impact prices,' said Muhl. As usual, consistency is key when approaching brand purpose. Consumers have grown taxed by companies jumping on hot-button issues of the day, but they're also put off by those that are as quick to abandon their values in the face of headwinds. 'Now is not the time to change tack and begin to tell a new brand story or redefine a company's values,' reads the Gartner report. Staying committed to a particular positioning or tactic can feel daunting given how chaotic the implementation of tariffs has been so far, with steep levies imposed and then adjusted or paused virtually overnight (on Monday, President Donald Trump pushed the deadline for finalizing agreements with the U.S. from July 9 to Aug. 1 while threatening even steeper tariffs on certain countries). It's important for marketers to remember that, regardless of the final percentages attached to the levies, consumers feel adrift and will appreciate brands that can bring a sense of clarity and calm to the storm — not to mention an ease on the wallet. 'Whatever happens on July 9 or around it, uncertainty has been unleashed into the system,' said Muhl, referencing the original tariff deadline. Recommended Reading How CMOs can stay reactive as Trump tariff chaos threatens budgets
Business Wire
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Gartner Marketing Survey Finds Nearly Half of Consumers Expect to Buy More American Goods Amid Economic Uncertainty
BUSINESS WIRE)--Forty-seven percent of consumers expect to buy more American-made products this year, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. A Gartner Consumer Community survey of 212 US consumers, conducted in March 2025, found that 42% consumers agreed that they have decided to wait to make a major purchase, up from 2024 when only 28% consumers were reconsidering such expenditures (see Figure 1). By the third quarter of 2025, Gartner predicts 60% of consumers will have elected to delay a major purchase. And by the end of the year, Gartner predicts 60% of consumers will buy on secondhand and peer-to-peer marketplaces. 'The current wave of economic uncertainty is reshaping consumer behavior in profound ways,' said Kate Muhl, VP Analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice. 'There is a clear shift towards more deliberate purchasing decisions and budget-conscious shopping strategies, as individuals prioritize financial stability over immediate gratification. 'Marketing leaders who adapt to these changes by strengthening their brand value, and consistently delivering on core consumer promises, will be more likely to see their organizations thrive." Consumers Prefer Brands to Stay Neutral but Consistency Matters Even More While the majority (68%) of consumers are not looking for brands to take stands on social or political issues right now, 55% say that when a brand reverses course on social and political issues, they lose trust in that brand. Furthermore, a third of consumers who distrust brands that reverse course report boycotting a brand in the last year (compared to only 20% of those unbothered by brands reversing course). "In today's intricate landscape, marketers must navigate the delicate balance between brand activism and consumer sentiment with caution. While it's a challenging time to initiate new socio-political campaigns, altering existing stands requires subtlety and discretion to avoid alienating consumers," advises Muhl. Gartner clients can read more in the report: ' Quick Answer: CMOs Must Prepare for Consumer Reaction to Tariffs'. About the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo The Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo is taking place June 2-4 in Denver, providing marketing leaders with actionable advice about the trends, tools and emerging technologies they need to deliver business results and exceed expectations. Gartner analysts address the biggest opportunities, challenges and priorities marketers face today, including marketing strategy development, marketing analytics and CX strategy. Follow news and updates coming out of the conference on the Gartner Newsroom and on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerMKTG. About Gartner for Marketers Gartner for Marketers provides the objective, expert advice, and proven tools that CMOs and other marketing leaders need to seize the right opportunities with clarity and confidence, and to stay ahead of the trends that matter. With in-depth research and analysis, Gartner for Marketers helps you focus on the opportunities with the greatest potential to deliver results. More information on Gartner for Marketers is available online at Follow news and updates from the Gartner Marketing practice on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerMKTG. Members of the media can find additional information and insights in the Gartner Marketing Newsroom. About Gartner Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) delivers actionable, objective insight that drives smarter decisions and stronger performance on an organization's mission-critical priorities. To learn more, visit
